This market is cherry!

When I moved to San Diego for my first newspaper job, I fell into a group of fun and talented staff writers who all lived together in a rambling house in La Jolla known as The Cherry House. Did it have a weeping cherry tree in the backyard? Nope. But when the realtor first showed them the house they would eventually rent over the next ten years or so, one of the guys exclaimed “This house is cherry.” The name stuck. And this time of year when the cherries start rolling in, both sour and sweet. I'm reminded of the fun times, deep discussions and summer bbqs that were had at The Cherry House.

Cherry. It's hard to even say the word aloud without smiling. A bowl of cherries on the kitchen counter paints a picture of summer, its promise of adventure but also of lazy afternoons in the hammock.

Of course as a child, you can't beat eating them out of hand in your garden and spitting out the pits (sometimes competitively). But as we get to know our way around a kitchen, we realize how fantastic cherries taste when baked or stewed or...brandied! Try baked or skillet cherries in a grilled cheese sandwich with a little balsamic from Kontoulis Olive Oil (back next week). Or make your own cherry jam to blend into your Greek yogurt or slather on to a piece of Bien Cuittoasted baguette.

Noble Pies is bringing Marry Me Cherry to the market this week, one of their most popular pies. (Incidentally two of my favorite people in the world met/married at the Cherry House). The pie may not prompt you to get down on one knee, but it may tempt you to throw a backyard dinner party. To make it extra easy, SOVA Farms is bringing spatchcocked chicken. This is a chicken with the backbone removed so the bird can lay flat on your grill (or oven). It will cook in 1/2 the time (about 35-40 minutes) as a whole bird, and it will cook more evenly. They are also bringing all of their other cuts of certified organic chicken (breasts, thighs, drumsticks) which also make for a quick and easy cookout. Don't forget the Sangria!

Or the spirits. Did you know that Cooper's Daughter is a women-owned & run distillery and that in addition to their fantastic black walnut or smoked maple bourbon they also make hyper-seasonal vodkas like ramp or rhubarb-honey?

Do you ever wonder what our farmers cook with all the great grub they bring back from the market? Check out Stoneberry Farm's Instagram story for their latest post on what they cooked last night.

Noomi Peanut Butter returns for the first time this season. How have we survived without her fantastic nut butter sweetened with dates for this long? And how good would this peanut-butter taste with the aforementioned cherry jam?

We are super excited to bring you a new food truck this week: Ambrosia Juicery. Please welcome Akil Nelson who will be using market ingredients to make organic juices, and smoothies but also pancakes with seasonal fruit and local syrup (yay, a proper breakfast at the market!), acai bowls and avocado toasts.

Homespun Chili is going to be taking a medical leave for the next several weeks. This will be John's last visit at the market until August. If you are a fan of his Rockin' Moroccan or Cowboy Beef Chili (and who isn't?) stock up. He will be bringing extra!

Finally, a hearty congratulations to all of our graduating seniors who will be graduating when this blog posts. This has been a particularly special and tight knit class and your positive energy will be missed in the 10706.